34. Chapter 34 #2
Muttering a curse, he bent, peeking into the keyhole.
Nothing. It was black.
“He’s done something to the lock.” Grabbing the knob with both hands, he wrenched with all his strength.
Nothing.
Pounding her fist on the door, Zadé called, “Yer Majesty! Let us in—we have news!” She hammered her palm against the door again.
Pressing his ear to the wood, Elessan listened.
Footsteps approached. “Who’s there?” The voice was unfamiliar.
Oh, by Abaddon… “It’s Elessan Svialto and General Brightleaf! We have an update!” One that shouldn’t be shouted through the door for the entire world to hear.
“One moment!”
Crashes and groans sounded from the other side of the doors. After several minutes, they creaked open.
Elessan blinked. No less than five spears hovered at his neck. Raising his gaze to peer behind the soldiers at King Enorathil, he raised his eyebrows.
“At ease,” the monarch said, waving his hand at them in a lazy gesture.
As one, the men stepped back, pulling their lances until the sharpened tips pointed toward the ceiling again.
“What a warm greeting.” Elessan tried to keep the sarcasm from his voice, but failed.
With an eyeroll, he slid inside. Zadé and Jalius followed.
The dark part of him had hoped Brooks had used a Whisperer and eliminated the royal, though that would’ve likely resulted in the death of Aliya and the other hostages, as well, if they weren’t able to wear the ear plugs Aliya had smuggled in for them.
Sprawled in Aliya’s chair, Roland sat at the head of the oversized table occupying most of the room. He leaned back, arms crossed, and glared at Zadé. “Well, boy. How did you get out of custody?”
Zadé stepped forward, fishing in her satchel. “That’s not important right now.”
Elessan put his hand out, latching onto her arm and stopping her before she could pull the Whisperer out for all to see. With how the male had been salivating over the weapons earlier, the last thing they needed was Roland getting his hands on it.
The king’s forehead wrinkled as his eyebrows lifted. “Oh, it’s not, is it?” He waved one hand to gesture around the room. “By all means, then, what is more urgent than a traitor escaping?”
Elessan took a deep breath and tilted his head toward Jalius, who was staying back between him and Zadé. “The mages have discovered a way to adjust the Whisperers so they don’t kill their victims, only knock them out.”
Roland snorted. “And you want to take this unconscious Arcane Inquisitor prisoner so he can what, escape again?” His eyes darted to Zadé.
She flinched.
“We’d be much better off slitting his throat and being done with it,” Roland said.
Elessan shook his head. “That’s a decision for Queen Aliya to make. This is her castle he’s invaded, after all.” He shrugged. “In the meantime, we can throw him in the oubliette.” The tiny space beneath the guard tower should be more than sufficient. He’d even secure it himself, if need be.
Zadé leaned toward him and whispered, “Not the best idea, Elsan. Princess ‘n I already stashed a few prisoners there. It’s too small fer more.”
Well, Valek.
Roland glanced at Aliya’s father, who was standing alone and forgotten in a dark corner of the room.
The king continued as if Zadé hadn’t said anything, though there was no way he hadn’t heard her.
“Miss Larimar is not here, so it’s no longer her decision.
And I have yet to hear any reason why I shouldn’t re-arrest you and have your throat slit for escaping. ”
Elessan’s hand dipped to his sword, his fingers wrapping around the hilt until his knuckles creaked. So much for his centuries of loyal service. The last thing he’d allow would be for Roland to imprison him before he’d rescued Aliya. It was the least he could do.
Zadé jumped between them, breaking Elessan’s sightline on the king. “Yer daughter freed him.” She shrugged. “Well, not her per say…the shapeshifter who’s been pretendin’ ta be Tsara since yeh arrived. She broke him out like it was nothin’.”
If Zadé had been going for shock value to distract Roland from having Elessan re-arrested on the spot, it worked.
Roland’s face turned purple as his eyes bulged. “What? Tsara did what?”
Biting back a sigh, Elessan shook his head.
With the cat was out of the bag, the only thing he could do was go with it and hope Zadé knew what she was doing.
“It wasn’t your daughter,” he said. “A shapeshifter who was impersonating her murdered her around the time you arrived, and buried her in the forest. I’m sure we can locate her remains once this is over so we can give the princess funeral rights. ”
Elessan’s gut twisted. While his head understood that everything Tsara had done of late hadn’t really been her, he had been so thoroughly fooled that his heart was having a hard time reconciling the events from before and after the shifter had killed her.
He also needed to talk to Shadow, assuming the cat would deign to speak to him.
“A shapeshifter?” Roland was still sputtering, as though his brain couldn’t process the concept.
He was standing now, leaning over, hands braced on the table as if he’d pull it up and toss it aside.
Or perhaps he was fighting off a bout of nausea.
Maybe both. “One of those heathens made their way into the castle and decided to impersonate my daughter? Out of everyone?” He shook his head, spittle flying from his lips.
“No. Impossible. I would’ve known, would’ve sensed something was off. ”
An unwelcome twinge of empathy jolted through Elessan.
Hadn’t he just been thinking the same thing?
“Shapeshifters are masters at what they do,” he said.
“One was close to Malkov for over a decade, spying on him, while the king was none the wiser.” Shadow would be furious if she ever discovered he’d outed her, even if her identity was still secure.
Zadé tossed the gold chain and pendant to Roland.
“What’s this?” He held the jewelry up to the light.
“The charmed necklace th’ shifter was wearin’,” Zadé said. “It was magicked-like ta hide her eye color.”
Roland glared at him through slitted eyes. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to distract me to keep yourself free. It’s not going to work. Any second now, my daughter will come waltzing through that door, and you’ll be right back in chains where traitors like you belong.”
This was going nowhere. Impatience bubbled up Elessan’s throat like he’d eaten something spicy that wasn’t sitting well.
“Fine.” He could deal with Roland later.
“We’re going to deploy the last Whisperer, take Brooks out, and rescue the prisoners.
” Including Aliya. He glared at Aliya’s father.
“Then, when they’re safe, we'll address the whereabouts of Princess Tsara.”
Turning his attention back to Roland, Elessan swallowed. “Have there been any updates on the Arcane Inquisitor or the hostages?”
The king pressed his lips into a thin line, saying nothing.
Elessan’s fingers twitched, itching to wrap themselves around the king’s throat and slam him against the wall until he started talking.
Finally, one of the guards whom Elessan didn’t recognize, spoke. “They’re fortified in the library. We’ve sent a few scouting parties, but haven’t been able to get close enough to learn anything of note.”
Roland growled. “We are waiting on the results of the interrogation of the prisoners from the kitchens.”
Zadé bared her teeth. “The queen left orders those people were not ta be hurt!”
Roland showed his fangs right back at her.
“And I’m certain if she’d known her safety would be at risk, she’d have given her permission for a light questioning in preparation for her rescue.
” His eyes flicked toward Aliya’s father.
“However, being that she’s not present, their interrogations were authorized by myself and Baron Larimar. ”
Elessan clenched his fists. This was it. He was going to kill both of them—the king and Aliya’s father. He could sweep away the major players in the kingdom and they could start over. There was some sort of poetic justice there.